SEVILLA CITY AND FLAMENCO´S ROUTE: 

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We offer the possibility of visit Andalucía’s capital and enjoy a Flamenco´s show, here is a preview:

The orange trees lining the city's squares and cobblestone streets bloom and fill the air with the scent of orange blossoms, cafés set tables and chairs outside again, and the talk of the town once again turns to world-famous celebrations of Semana Santa and Feria de Abril. 

Cathedral
Built between 1402 and 1506, Sevilla's spectacular gothic cathedral is the biggest- although the English and the Italians will argue otherwise- cathedral in the world. Its highlight, La Giralda, is a soaring bell tower still boasting the elaborate architecture and decoration typical of its Moorish roots. Since this former minaret of a mosque that once occupied the site was spared destruction, today visitors can still venture up the series of ramps for an unbeatable panorama of Sevilla. 

Alcazar
Attracting travellers from near and far, Sevilla has long been a preferred destination of not only camera-toting tourists but also of Spanish monarchs. The king known as Pedro the Cruel was so fond of the city that he wanted to live and rule his kingdom from it, resulting in a total revamping of a 10th century Moorish fortess, converting it into a sprawling palace fit for – what else – a king. With its intricate designs and elaborate architectural forms, this impressive and original example of the Mudéjar style is not to be missed. 

Bullring
You will also visit “la Maestranza, the bullring of Seville and If you want you could assist to a bullfight.
Tapas
Any sevillano will proudly and stubbornly maintain that the gastronomic art of tapas had its humble beginnings in Sevilla. Over 1000 tapas bars in Sevilla serve a variety of dishes from which to picar (try), ranging from ham to vegetables to fried fish.
Flamenco
There is a reason why thoughts of flamenco inevitably evoke images of Spain's most romantic city. Ranging from impromptu guitar jams in hidden bars to huge choreographed theater shows, Sevilla is the place to go to see the Andalucían passion come to life through song, dance, and guitar. After suffering a decline in both popularity and practice, flamenco music and dance have come back with a fitting passion to the Spanish cultural forefront. Drawing musical elements from various eastern world cultures and fusing them later on with the Jewish and Arab cultures eventually yielded the musical artform and source of national - and in particular Andalucían - pride known as flamenco. Still existing in its purest forms in the towns and city quarters of gypsy and refugee (from when the Catholic kings banned Jewish and Muslim religions) origin, particularly those along the Guadalquivir River, the essence of flamenco music continues to lie in the live performance. For this very reason, the art took shape, surfaced, and flourished in bars, parties, and tablaos. The typical flamenco performance is comprised of several crucial figures who push each other as they strive to evoke a response in the audience. The ability to do this, to achieve this intense emotional connection, is know as the duende (spirit). If you find yourself inadvertently on the edge of your seat with goosebumps down your arms and your mouth open wide in awe, you could say that the performers in front of you have succeeded. The singer, or cantaor, fiercely belts out an intensely passionate song of lament known as a cante jondo (deep song). The guitarist, or tocaor, improvises as he complements the strong voice of the cantaor and together they aim to achieve the highest possible level of intensity. Accompanying them and setting the atmosphere for the dancers and singers are people who clap their hands, shout to the other performers, snap their fingers, and stomp their feet, all of which is known as jaleo. Flamenco dancers, typically young women wearing brilliant dresses, perform with a feisty passion, spinning and drilling their heels into the floorboards with mind-blowing force. Flamenco music also takes shape other forms, like sevillanas and saetas. Naturally, Sevilla remains the place to see flamenco and its variants, and you can do so in one of its numerous flamenco venues. Plus, be here in September for the month-long Bienal de Flamenco; it’s the most important flamenco festival in Spain and takes place every other year. 

CADIZ AND HUELVA´S  CARNIVALS (16 to 26 february 2012)

  www.spainsouthwest.com "The best way to discover the Festivals of the Southwest of Spain"


.-CÁDIZ

Cadiz (pronounced CA-deeth) is famous for the sense of humour of its citizens and the age-old Carnival where authority, politicians, celebrities and the church are parodied and ridiculed with unparalleled skill and wit in comic song. The central figures here are the choirs, oragrupaciones, which are groups of between three and forty singers.  The Falla's Contest is a Music festival held in the Gran Teatro Falla before Carnival itself and, to a certain extent, it is a relatively serious competition as the show is televised across Spain. Competition is keen, and contestants spend months in preparation.

The most popular type of group is the chirigotas, choirs normally of ten unison or close-harmony singers, accompanied by bombo, caja (drum, box - used as a percussion instrument) and guitar. Their repertoire is the most satirical of the different types of groups and the literary quality of the songs can be very high (they may be written by local authors). Only a few musical forms such as the tango or pasodoble are used, so that everyone knows the tune and can concentrate on the words.

 

As the story goes, the Carnaval fun began in the 17th century when the city tried to outdo the opulent carnival celebrations of Venice. The crews of the great Spanish port on the Atlantic spread their Carnaval song afar, most notably to Tenerife, which has similar competitions for their world-famous Carnaval. The galleons returned from the New World with not only gold and silver, but with even more powerful treasure: the rhythms and musical influences that still dominate today's Carnival. African and Creole rhythms, sambas and rustic Colombian tunes all intermingle in the streets with local Andalusian songs and traditional flamenco music.

In Cádiz, however, the party never stopped. Today, the town of 160,000 people begins planning six months in advance for the parades and the singing showdowns at the theater.

While many Carnivals end the day before the beginning of Lent, the party goes on several more days in Cádiz. Parades are held on the Sundays before and after Ash Wednesday. People on the floats throw confetti, or sometimes candy, to the children.

Outside of Cádiz capital, carnivals take place throughout the province. The Puerto de Santa María carnival, for example, is a major event. This town is most famous for its "Comparsas" singing groups and many of them also participate in the big provincial contest held at the Teatro Falla in Cádiz. As in other places, everyone dresses up for the festivals and there is a parade on the last day. Rota, San Fernando, Chiclana, Algeciras, Medina-Sidonia and Trebujena all have lavish carnivals. 

HUELVA 

Isla Cristina and Ayamonte in Huelva, are also famous for their elaborate costumes and excitement, drawing visitors from throughout the region and the other side of the Portuguese border as well.

The Huelva carnival is one of the biggest in Andalucia and is known as the Columbian Carnival, in honour of Christopher Columbus, who sailed from Huelva to discover the New World. The Huelva carnival closed down during Franco's prohibition and it took a few years to start it up again, even after democracy overtook the country. It was not, therefore, until 1983 that this carnival re-started after a long sleep.

The Huelva Federation of Clubs and Carnival Associations (Federación Onubense de Peñas y Asociaciones de Carnaval (FOPAC) is responsable for organizing this exciting event for the capital of Huelva, which - like Cádiz - hosts a major contest for all the different genres of carnival singers. The Huelva carnival singing contest has been known to attract up to 70 different groups from Huelva, Cádiz and the rest of Andalucia.

HOLY WEEK (HUELVA AND SEVILLE) Since 1 april 2012 to 8 april 2012

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The processions, the art, the drama and the music carry on for the duration of Holy Week.

One of the two celebrations practically synonymous with Sevilla and Huelva is its spectacular Semana Santa (Holy Week), lasting from Palm Sunday until Easter Sunday. People from near and far, music, processions, and juxtaposing sentiments of solemnity and celebration saturate the normally tranquil atmosphere of Sevilla's winding, cobbled streets. 

The centuries-old tradition showcases the efforts of each of Sevilla's more than fifty cofradías (brotherhoods), some of which go back as far as a century and a half before America was even discovered. Each cofradía´s processional entourage includes hooded penitents- don't worry, the resemblance of those pointed hoods and long robes to those of the Ku Klux Klan is disconcerting but unrelated - and enormous ornate floats topped with images of the Virgin or of scenes from Christ's Passion. Thirty to forty hidden men, called costaleros, haul these massive floats upon their shoulders and uniformly move in time to the goosebump-inducing music of trumpets, coronets, and drums. While Semana Santa sparks celebrations throughout Spain, Sevilla's interpretation is world-famous for a reason. 

So, if you find yourself in Spain during Holy Week, this sensational religious display is calling your name. 

LaSaeta If you're lucky enough to be in Sevilla or Huelva during its spectacular Semana Santa, you're sure to hear another manifestation of flamenco in the form of a saeta. This is essentially a sung prayer dedicated to the Virgins carried during the Semana Santa processions. The float pauses and a singer, usually perched on a balcony, spontaneously bursts into this short but powerful song. The crowds remain silent and the procession doesn't set back into motion until the singer finishes his or her saeta. 

"The Grotto of the Marvels" (Aracena, Huelva.)





A fount of beauty that never runs dry, created with two ingredients as simple as water and stone, over a period of millennia. Only after seeing this "Grotto of Marvels (Gruta de las Maravillas)" with one's own eyes can one appreciate how it came to be thus named.
Discovered by a shepherd in 1886, the Gruta de las Maravillas was the first cave in Spain to be dedicated to tourism, having opened to the public in 1886.

The total length of the Gruta de las Maravillas is over two kilometres, of which 1,200 metres is open to the public.
The tour starts in the Conch Chamber and leads you along the first level of galleries, where water is a feature, until you come to the Great Hall (the largest chamber in the Grotto). From there you go on to the Cathedral Chamber.
On this second level you can see a great number and variety of formations, as well as flooded gours. You drop down to the first level to view the Chickpea Chamber, the Bare Chamber and, once again, the lake, which continues all the way to the exit.


Amongst the fantastic formations you can see in the Gruta de las Maravillas are the following:
•Stalactites and stalagmites: formations that hang from the ceiling or rise up out of the ground, respectively, made by the dripping of water containing calcite. When a stalactite and a stalagmite join up the resulting formation is known as a column.



•Gours: "bathtubs", pits or pools which form in caves.

•Flowstones: these are produced in a similar way to stalactites and stalagmites but on horizontal surfaces over which water flows. They are of different shapes and colours determined by the mineral content of the water.
•Pisoliths: calcareous balls which are found in the pools of grottoes.
•Excentrics: as their name indicates, these are star-shaped, hedgehog-shaped, explosion-shaped, etc., formations.


For a long time, all these spectacular formations have made the Gruta de las Maravillas a source of inspiration for all kinds of artists, and a visiting-place for royalty, for heads of State and Government, etc., as well as thousands of ordinary people.


The Gruta de las Maravillas is a must-see for all who visit the Sierra de Aracena.

GOLF COURSES IN HUELVA (www.spainsouthwest.com)


.-AC NUEVO PORTIL GOLF: located at the village of Nuevo Portil.



46 acres and a length of 6,040 meters, the golf course of Nuevo Portil, designed by Alfonso Viador characterized by wide fairways and soft greens, directs hisviews to the Natural Stones Marshes and Flecha de El Rompido.


.- EL ROMPIDO GOLF

Situated in the province of Huelva, on the western side of Andalusia, golf el rompido blends into the natural site of the Wetlands of River Piedras. golf el rompido is the only golf course in the region with 36 holes (north course and south course) and no property developments surrounding it.

Its two 18-hole courses, surrounded by pine and orange groves, cross the wetlands and open out onto the Atlantic Ocean with some spectacular views, giving those who play it a unique experience.The force of nature is evident with every step, turning the sport of golf into a pleasure for the senses.

.- ISLANTILLA GOLF CLUB

It opened in 1992 and has become one of the most well-known golf courses of Andalusia.

Since its opening, Islantilla Golf has hosted various prestigious tournaments and was ranked as one of the 100 best courses of Continental Europe by the prestigious magazine Golf Digest in the year 2000.

Its careful design, the gentle slopes, water, scenery, sea views, weather conditions and the Pencross Greens and Agrostis Fairways make for a quality golf club at the highest level.

.- BELLAVISTA GOLF CLUB

Bellavista was opened in 1916 and is a Partner Club British style open to all golfers.


In a pure nature environment , a wonderful pine accompanies the golfer throughout the tour, featuring fast greens, noble and wide streets with little distance between greens and tees.


The course is very technical and is a major challenge for amateurs of all levels, being necessary to use almost every club in the bag.


The enviable weather conditions, over 3000 hours of sunshine a year and its strategic location near the highway linking the north of Seville with Portugal, 5 km from Huelva, make a scene odóneo Bellavista to enjoy golf all year.




.- "GOLF DUNAS DE DOÑANA"

The golf course “Golf Dunas de Doñana” is situated in the province of Huelva (Western Andalusia) and lies within a fair distance to Seville, Jerez, and Faro (Portugal) airports.

Its location in the close proximity of Europe’s most important natural park, El Coto de Doñana, and just steps from the Atlantic Ocean, contributes to making the 18-hole golf course Dunas de Doñana an excellent site to enjoy all the pleasures of golf.

Its wise combination of styles make the course an unforgettable experience for golfers of all levels. The 18 holes of the course are easy to walk and let the golfer develop all his creativity with the clubs.

.- ISLA CANELA GOLF COURSE

Isla Canela Golf Course is a wonderful 18 holes golf course, located within Ayamonte´s beaches, inside the Costa de la Luz.

It relies on an enviable climatology that it allows his utilization 12 months of the year, a perfectly elegant, accessible field to the high hándicaps and very challenger for the low ones.

His tour is integrated to a natural marsh that he is awarded by a beauty and an ornithological special wealth, beside providing to his tour natural obstacles that increase the difficulty and amusement of the game.

To play to the golf in Isla Canela is always a pleasure and a challenge for all his visitors.

.- COSTA ESURI GOLF

The lack of housing through the streets, 36 holes of golf, its wonderful location by the river Guadiana which allows a spectacular view of Portugal and the mouth of the river,walking distance to the beach make this golf club in a golfer's paradise.

HUELVA´S TIPICAL FOOD


The gastronomical richness of Huelva, between sea and land, is great, fish and meat are complemented with vegetables, seasoned with oils and vinegars, accompanied by a good wine, and finished off with fruits and sweets. More over, traditional cooking is now joined by new products and reinvents of dedicated professionals, resulting in delicate plates that delight the senses.

.-Prawns of Huelva

The white prawns of Huelva are considered to be the most exquisite variety of this delicacy by authorities the world over.



.-Cured Ham of Jabugo (Huelva)




Cured ham is called jamón serrano, or mountain-cured ham. It can be very good. But, Andalusia has some special pigs with a southern accent. These are a native breed called iberico, a small brown pig which thrives on the acorns from scrub oaks and cork trees. From the iberico comes the most superb cured ham (D.O.Jamón de Huelva, which includes the town of Jabugo).

Jabugo (Huelva) is the most famous place in Andalucia for the cured hams "jamon serano" is the village of Jabugo in the Sierra de Arecena in Huelva province. The nearby villages of Cumbres Mayores and Cortegana are also devoted to production of fine hams. It is said that the micro climate of these hills is ideal for the oak trees which provide the acorns on which the pigs feed. Pata Negra ham is the finest and most expensive, it is produced from pigs hat have had a diet exclusively of acorns

.- Cuttlefish

There are typical Huelva dishes like fried cuttlefish or cuttlefish with broad beans (the simbiosis of the marine and the agricultural background of Huelva). 

.-Fish

The thousand years of seafaring tradition has left its mark on the cuisine of Huelva with a great variety of fish, seafood and moluscs. Clams, shells, razor shells or mussels are eaten steamed or marinated. Seafood like the white shrimp of Huelva is consumed cooked and the base for a multitude of new recipes. Fish, rich and varied, from grilled sole or plaice and pickled fried fish to barbequed sardines, all typical seaman's food.

Another aspect of the seafaring tradition is the preserves industry, from the salted tuna ("ham of the sea") to mackerel in olive oil.

.- Mushrooms

The mycological wealth of the Andévalo and Sierra can clearly been seen in the wide variety of mushrooms harvested and consumed. Under local names (níscalos, gurumelos, tontullos, tanas, garipiernos), many mushroom of the family of Amanitas, are starring in recipes for stews and omelettes or are consumed grilled or baked. Although the highseason is autumn and winter, they are now part of the menu of restaurants throughout the year.

.-Fruits

Strawberrys from Lepe, Oranges from Cartaya and Chestnut from the Mountain Range are a representation of the delicious fruits of Huelva.

.- Desserts

The variety of the desserts of Huelva is huge and is based in the wheat flour, dressed in rich honey from the Andévalo and the mountains.

Traditional homemade desserts that have been appreciated since long ago are gañotes, pestiños, aniseroscos , torrijas (typical for Easter), sweet cider (coca Ayamonte), almond (hornazo San Bartolomé de la Torre), almond and honey ( piñonate of Cortegana, etc.).

WINES, BEER AND COGNAC/BRANDY OF THE SOUTHWEST OF SPAIN (www.spainsouthwest.com)

- WINE

The grape and wine-growing region which is currently protected under the Denomination of Origin “Condado de Huelva” comprises a vast region located to the southeast of the province of Huelva. The vintage and ageing region of the wines protected under this D.O. comprises only the districts of Almonte, Bollullos Par del Condado, Chucena, La Palma del Condado, Manzanilla, Moguer, Rociana del Condado and Villalba del Alcor.

The grapevines of the region protected by the D.O. extend over flatlands and slightly hilly areas. In general, the soil is neutral or slightly alkaline, on open areas with a medium fertility level. These areas are of supreme quality for grape cultivation.

· 

The climate of the Condado de Huelva enjoys ideal conditions for growing grapevines; gentle winters and springs with long, warm summers, and a clear Atlantic influence. The average temperature of the region is 18ºC and the relative humidity vacillates between 60% and 80%. The grape varieties cultivated in this region and authorised for the production of wine protected by the Denomination of Origin “Condado de Huelva” are: Zalema, Palominio Fino, Listán de Huelva, Garrido Fino, Moscatel de Alejandría and Pedro Ximénez. The first, Zalema , holds the maximum wineyield of the vineyards in this region with an 86% total plantation.  Around 3,100 wine growers work the approximately 6,000 hectares protected under the Denomination of Origin, with an average production of 400,000 Qm. (40 million kgs.) of grapes , equivalent to some 320,000 Hls. The marketing of Young White Wines in the International Market, until now has been insignificant compared to the marketing of Full-bodied Wines. This product has been the main axis of international commercialisation for the Condado de Huelva, holding a year-on-year average of 1,466,000 litres in the last 8 years.  The main destinations of these exports are Holland , the United Kingdom and Germany.

·         Documents dating back to January 1502 attest the first shipment of wines from this area to the Indies . This shipment totalling 1,422 maravedís (an old Spanish coin) left Seville in the same fleet in which Friar Nicolás de Ovando set sail for La Española. This export tradition in the region carried on for several centuries reaching its peak of splendour in the 16 th century.

The second half of the 18 th Century marked the beginning of the decline of wine commerce from the port of Seville to the Indies due to the transfer of the House of Contracts to Cádiz. The wines of the region were moved to the ports of Cádiz, Puerto Real, Puerto de Santa María, and Sanlúcar where they set off to America . Sanlúcar received mostly manzanilla wines . 

The end of this century marks the beginning of the influx and settling of families from the Rioja wine region into the county. Among them came the family of Juan Ramón Jiménez, who restored splendour to this region during the 19 th Century. However, at the end of this century, a phylloxera plague brought decadence once again, and this lasted until the 1920s.

·         The introduction of a resistant plant graft brought on some recovery, but the wines from this region lost their prestige from the centuries before and they began supplying the whole of the Spanish territory and this lasted well into the 20 th Century.

·         Nevertheless, out of necessity to produce under high quality standards and to try to restore the splendour of years before, the Denomination of Origin “Huelva” was created on May 10 th , 1962, and by ordinance of the Agricultural Ministry, the Regulations of the Denomination of Origin “Condado de Huelva” was passed in 1963, which united all sectors involved to take on the task of helping the world rediscover the excellence of the Discovery Wines.

     

ORANGE SWEET WINE

In Huelva they have a special tradition with the mistela wine. This is the new and exclusive wine VDM orange, its a sweet licor and contain white grapes, alejandria and zalema grapes. This wine have been in blaco oak during 5 year with dry oranges.

Sight: Mahogany color, clean and shinny.
Aroms: toast fruits with old wood and oraganges flowers.
Mouthfeel: Silky tasty, really original its a pleasant to the taste 

B   - BEER

   

cRUZCAMPO is considered to be the biggest beer producer in Spain. Founded in 1904 by Roberto Osborne and Agustin Osborne in Seville, takes the name of La Cruz del Campo (The Cross of the Field), which used to be a cross in the middle of the field, which still stands today next to the brewery in Seville.

Nowadays it is part of the Heineken who bought it from Guiness, however Spanish people, especially Southerners, regard Cruzcampo as the national pride and is the most consumed. Cruzcampo can be found anywhere in Spain, but it is in Andalusia where it is most consumed. It has breweries in Sevilla, Madrid, Valencia, Jaén and Arano. The actual logo is the figure of Gambrinus, who is the legendary creator of beer, since 1926. Before it was the original cross in the field.

COGNAC/BRANDY

Legend has it that in 1893, in La Palma del Condado (Huelva,Andalusia, Spain), there came to light some kegs of brandy made –according to an inscription which they bore – for Antoine d'Orléans, Duke of Montpensier and son of King Louis Philippe I of France. Many of those kegs, whose residue serves as the mother for Luis Felipe brandy, are still kept at Rubio Wineries.

In Rubio Winery Spain, in conditions of silence and cool air, Luis Felipe brandy ages for 60 years. The “secret” has been handed down from each generation to the next in order to perpetuate its characteristics. To step in through the winery's doorway is to learn about the history of this spirit and the process which it follows until it becomes what it is, and to have a chance to taste it in the place where it is made.